Nebraska voters will decide on online sports betting legalisation on 3 November. The secretary of state's office confirmed the campaign collected more than 235,000 signatures across all 93 counties. The ballot will carry two questions: a constitutional amendment and a gaming law revision requiring the Racing and Gaming Commission to establish regulation.
Nebraska authorised sports betting five years ago, but only in person at racino casinos. If the referendum passes, the state will become the first to legalise online wagering by ballot after the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission allowed licensed prediction markets to accept contracts on sporting events. Several states have sued Kalshi and other operators, arguing the activity violates local gambling law. Nebraska is not among the plaintiffs, but Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined 40 colleagues in a letter to the CFTC head disputing the federal regulator's authority over such contracts.
The campaign has drawn $7.4m to the Tax Relief Nebraska committee. DraftKings and FanDuel each contributed $3.5m, BetMGM gave $250,000 and Fanatics added $75,000. Three of the four now operate prediction markets in Nebraska and take sports wagers through them. Sources told Gambling Insider it remains unclear whether they will close sports markets ahead of the referendum; in states with online betting licences, these operators do not offer sports contracts through prediction apps.
If approved, each of the state's five casinos may launch up to two online platforms. Licence numbers are expected to stay low: Nebraska has about 2m residents, making it the 13th-smallest state. Missouri, which launched online betting recently, issued eight licences. GGR tax will be set at 20% with promotional deductions allowed. Wagers on Nebraska-Lincoln and Creighton teams are banned, which will reduce handle.
